As a fan of Geoff Johns’ Green Lantern, when I was seeking ideas of things to build, it was only natural to build the Green Lantern power battery that Hal Jordan uses to power the ring with which he battles evil and foes such as the Sinestro Corp. Of course, it wouldn’t be worth building if I couldn’t power the ring like Hal, so the inspiration was born.
The first stage of this project was to prepare the electronics. The obvious choice was to use an Arduino with an RFID reader in the front of the lantern. With a considerable amount of strife, and a ruined RFID reader, I was able to read an RFID chip with the hardware. The chip was implanted within a Green Lantern ring that had been given away by comic book stores earlier this year.
The Lego Sphere
Once the Arduino was ready, it was time to start building the Lantern itself. The first stage was to build the Lego sphere that made up the main body of the power battery, leaving holes on the sides for the lantern extrusions. A hole was also left in the top to allow the top part of the lantern to open to access the electronics. The arduino was placed in the body, and the RFID read and LED lights were added as the front of the lantern was built out. The power cable was run through the back and the rear was built out with a hole left for the cable.
Rear shot of Green Lantern Power Battery
When building the power battery, I veered from the actual design in two places. The first is the handle. Hal Jordan lifts the lantern with a handle that runs off its sides, but the weight of Lego and the lack of strength of the handle seemed like a poor idea in case someone got the idea lift it by the handle. The second design change was to add a Green Lantern symbol in the front of the Lantern so it would glow when the lights fade in and out.
Arduino in the power battery
By combining plastic bricks and technology, it becomes possible to create an interactive experience that would not be possible to bring fictional items like the Green Lantern power battery or the TARDIS to life. Upon completion of the Green Lantern, friends were impressed and asked if they would one day see the rest of the Lantern Corps colors, and my only answer was only time will tell.
If you’re interested in having anything built by me, please contact me via the link above or check out my Etsy store. Thanks.
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I’m a GL fan, and have been looking for something like this to do! Do you plan on releasing the building plans/instructions to the public?
Looked like fun to build.
I wasn’t planning to create any directions that were more in depth than this article explaining how I did it. Sorry.
I’d also be very interested in instructions on how to make an RFID-controlled light. Please let us know if you change your mind
RFID controlled light isn’t that hard. It’s parts from Sparkfun and the code is freely available on the web.
[...] more details on the build and a video of the Green Lantern Power Battery in action check it out Lego Green Lantern Power Battery on Jon’s [...]
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[...] Justjon’s website for even more details on his Lego Green Lantern Power Battery: Here! Share and [...]
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[...] userp the Green Lantern oath is a sacrilege. But calm your rage as you take in this Green Lantern battery and ring project. [Jon] built the power battery portion out of LEGO, but inside you’ll find an added bonus. An [...]
You should make the lanter to do the theme music of the green lanter when you finish with the oath.
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[...] The Green Lantern Power Ring is considered to be the ultimate tool in the DC Universe. The ring can create a light construct of anything that the wearer can dream up. In short, the ring’s only limitations are the user’s imagination and the fact that it needs to be recharged every 24 hours. For this, the Guardians of the Universe provide each member of the Green Lantern Corps with a Power Battery. Not content to wait for the Guardians to induct him into the Corps, Jon Lazar has made a Power Battery out of Lego bricks. Lazar built the Battery by combining green and clear Lego bricks with an LED light and RFID technology. Lazar placed an RFID reader in the Battery and an RFID chip in a Power Ring given out at comic shops last year. When the ring comes in proximity to the Battery, it lights up. More information on the building process can be found on Lazar’s site. [...]
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